La Nuit Du Chasseur
by NephilimScum
Summary: As the serene façade of her perfect life crumbles around her, the Princess is forced to flee her home, leaving behind a tyrant King - her own flesh and blood - to rule and ruin the people of Albion. Relying on her childhood hero for help - a man with many a secret - can she overcome both physical and mental attacks on her and her morals, as well as overthrow her traiterous brother?


_**Here we are with a Fable III Fan-Fic I started quite a while ago. I must say I love working on this as I truly do love the Fable world. And Reaver. Reaver is an extremely fun character to build on and write with and he does also happen to be one of my favourite game characters. Anyhow, hope you enjoy as I have worked hard on this one, and it's like my precious.**_

_**Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Lionhead Studios, not I as you should well know, and all that drabble.**_

_**Now! On with the show!  
**_

* * *

_A castle's radiance is refined by those who reside within it._

_** ~ Unknown**_

Golden light bathed the lush gardens in warmth as legions of colourful flowers swayed gaily in a gentle breeze. Nobles speckled the grounds with flashes of colour and powdered wigs, drifting about like flamboyant peacocks - pompously preening themselves to impress all that set eyes on them as birds chirruped sweetly from nearby greenery. The castle walls themselves seemed to shimmer with a faint, white light. To anyone who set eyes on it, the place was as serene as any a place could be.

"_CluckCluckCluck!" _

A cacophony of high pitched cries broke the serenity and startled the flock of Nobles.

"Bandit!"

A gaggle of chickens flapped and squawked their way across the garden, chased by a yipping black-and-white ball of fluff and legs.

"Stop it, you stupid mutt!" A young girl sprinted after the rogue puppy, closely followed by a boy with flushed cheeks and tousled brown hair.

"Hey, w-wait up Raven!"

"Come on slow-poke! Can't even keep up with fat Bandit!" She yelled, laughing over her shoulder at her friend.

"Yes I can!" he replied, his face bright with determination and lack of oxygen.

The two tailed the unruly hound through the gardens, the shrieking of the chickens and the children's joyous laughter disturbing the peace, much to the annoyance of the haughty residents. The little dog bolted after the birds, paws skittering over the flagstone paths and skidding through the flowerbeds. Panicked, the chickens darted to and fro, flapping their wings feebly in a pitiable attempt at escape. Screeching, eyes fearful, they begged their wings to work - take to the skies! We'll be safe there! But alas…chickens were not born to fly. So they dodged instead.

"Bandit, stop!" Raven cried, her eyes wide as her beloved puppy shot past the wily birds with a _yip! _and skidded straight into a pond, sending water in every which way and soaking an unfortunate noblewoman. With a groan, she covered her face with her hands as Elliot came to a halt beside her, panting. "You stupid, stupid, _stupid _dog! Oh Elliot, Jasper is going to _kill_ me!"

"I…I'm sure he'll be f-fine about it; he's only a dog after all." The brown haired boy was bent double, trying to catch his breath.

"Yes but…look at him!"

Bandit dragged himself out of the water, sodden and dripping, with muddy paws and a sheepish look upon his face. Raven loved her dog – he was her loyal companion and could usually be found glued to her side; apart from when he was chasing chickens of course!...or rabbits…or butterflies – but he could be a right bloody nuisance at times.

Bandit had mismatched eyes – one warm and brown, one icy and blue – a trait that Raven found cool; surely any enemies of hers would find her dog imposing with eyes like that! That is, when he got a bit bigger…no-one's afraid of a puppy.

Said puppy trotted up to his mistress with lowered head and wagging tail, tongue pink and lolling from his mouth and eyes imploring and begging for forgiveness; the picture of guilt. Then he shook his fur, sending droplets of water all over the two children.

"Oh Bandit—!"

"Bandit—!"

"Princess – what are you doing?"

"Oh no…" Raven flinched and shared a quick glance with Elliot, before turning around to face the newcomer . "Hello Jasper…we were just um—"

"Chasing chickens? Yes I know. We've had complaints."

Under the frowning gaze of the castle butler, the two apologised, shoes scuffing the grass at their feet.

Jasper smiled at the sight, warmth spreading across his old, lined face. They were cheeky children, that's for sure - but they weren't bad. "Yes well, no matter – your father wishes to speak with you."

"Really? Why?"

"That's something you can ask him yourself my dear. Now come along. Elliot, you wouldn't mind getting that mutt cleaned up would you?"

"See you later Elliot!" After a quick hug goodbye, Elliot trotted on his way with the soggy dog capering at his feet, leaving the Princess to link arms with the white haired butler and make their way into the castle.

* * *

Once the two further neared the King's study, they heard the unmistakable sound of arguing, however the words were too muffled by the heavy wooden door to be intelligible. Without hesitation, Jasper strode in and announced the Princess' arrival. The King and the man he was bickering with fell quiet, letting an awkward silence blanket the air.

Raven was rarely allowed entrance to this room and she peered around in astonishment. Regal armchairs and couches sat around the edges alongside scattered tables, draws and cupboards with varying amounts of paperwork atop them; suits of armour stood guard by the doorways while a flickering fire burned endlessly within an ornate marble fireplace; the room itself was aglow with candlelight and decorated with a smattering of Albion flags draped along the walls, as well as exotic rugs adorning the thickly carpeted floor. An odd metal contraption in the corner of the room seemed to be the source of the pleasant aroma pervading the air. Occupying the centre of the room stood a large round table – upon it modelled a scale version of Albion. It was this that the two disputers were standing around: the King leaning on it with hands gripping tight the table's rim – his associate resting a hip against the opposite side of the structure with a sense of smug nonchalance.

Turning her attention to the two adults, Raven squealed with joy. "Reaver!"

The smug smile grew wider at the cry, while the King's frown deepened.

"Ah, dearest Princess. How _nice _it is to see you again. It'sbeen a while, hasn't it?" He turned his gaze back to the King. "I shall bid you adieu for now, Sparrow. But _do _consider my offer…" Heading for the door, Reaver winked at the young Princess as he passed while the King scowled after him.

"You wanted to see me, daddy?"

"Ah, yes. Sorry about that. Took longer than I originally intended."

"Why was Reaver here?"

"No reason for you to worry yourself about. Now. About that dog of yours— "

"—Dad! It wasn't his fault! I didn't mean to let him out he just—"

The old King raised his hand, the previous annoyance having disappeared from his aging face. "All I ask is that, starting from today, you agree to begin training him. I have spoken to Walter and he is more than happy to assist you. At the moment, the pup is young and his actions can be easily forgiven, however the last thing we want around here is a fully grown hound wreaking havoc on the citizens."

"Yes dad."

"I will also allow you to enlist the help of Baron if he is available at the necessary time."

At the sound of his name, a shaggy brown mutt entered the room from the direction of the King's private chambers. It padded quietly across the carpet to sit proudly beside its master. The Hero of Bowerstone idly scratched the top of the dog's head while continuing stating his Bandit training regime.

Baron was an old dog – he'd accompanied Raven's father throughout his quest to become the King of Albion – and yet he showed no signs of slowing down; he was an anomaly of the canine world. Scarred and battle-worn, one of his intelligence-sparked eyes was painted a milky white after a particularly gruelling encounter with an enraged Balverine. However he was a friendly soul despite his ferocious appearance and had often provided Bandit with enough play-time and scolding to keep the young pup amused and in (a fair amount) of order.

"Now," Sparrow said, his speech finally over. "I will leave you to your day. I hope Bandit can become as fine a dog as Baron one day."

Raven nodded with a smile before leaving the room arm-in-arm with Jasper once more. As the door shut behind them, the young Princess looked eagerly up at the butler before exclaiming, "When Bandit grows up, he's gonna be _much _better than ol' Baron! He's gonna be the best dog in the world!"

Jasper chuckled. "I have no doubt of his capabilities – however you'll have to put a lot of effort into training the plucky thing."

"Yup!"

"So run along and grab the little mite and bring along Elliot if you wish – he can stay for dinner this evening too."

"Thanks Jasper!" With that, the young girl was off, sprinting down the hallway, down the stairs and out of the castle to find her two friends.

Having watched her darting figure disappear around the corner, Jasper shook his head. _I see so much of your father in you, little Raven. All I hope is that you don't make the same mistakes as he._

* * *

**Edit: I've decided to change this a bit and use a male Sparrow instead of female. And yeah, that about it.**

** Tatty-Bye! **


End file.
